First of all, an admission; I have not yet seen “Elysium”. The movie doesn’t even open here until Friday, and given what’s likely to be on my schedule for this weekend I may not even make it to my favorite theater (the one with the ultra soft recliner seats) until another week or so.

But I have been waiting on this one for months, and despite some of the more critical reviews (some of them from reviewers I tend to trust) I still am anxious to check this one out. Why? Because this is science fiction with a message, and that in itself is in the finest tradition of the best science fiction. Think back to some of the best episodes of “The Twilight Zone,” or “Star Trek”. Think of H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov. The list goes on and on, and all of them used the vehicle of science fiction to make us all think harder about our own humanity and what humanity is capable of – both good and bad.

I obviously don’t yet know for sure how well “Elysium” managed to meet that requirement that separates actual science fiction from clunky robots that go boom (although I kinda like some of those clunky robot movies) but just the fact that this is a sci fi movie that is striving for something more is enough to get my initial support. I’m betting this one will be worth the wait.